City of Bones, My favorite scenes in Jace POV
by jensan1332
Summary: One-shots of my favorite scenes in City of Bones
1. First Sight

**Disclaimer: All characters are intellectual property of Cassandre Clare and her book the City of Bones. Please write a review letting me know what you think. Thank You**

**At First Sight**

Tonight was like any other night, Isabelle, Alec, and I, Jace Wayland, were out hunting demons. We are what you call Shadowhunters and our purpose was to kill demons. Along time ago, a man named Jonathan Shadowhunter had an encounter with an Angel named Raziel. To protect humans from extinction, the Angel Raziel made Jonathan drink some of his blood from a cup, making Jonathan half-human, half-Angel creating the Shadowhunter order. Raziel also gave him a book called "The Gray Book" which listed different runes, each rune meaning something different. Most runes enhanced our fighting skills, making us faster, lighter, and stronger. While others could heal and also hide us from the human world or mundanes, as we called them.

Tonight we decided to go to Pandemonium, a mundane club, which made it a hot spot for demons and downworlders (other supernatural beings like werewolves and vampires). Mundanes were easy targets because they were gullible and easily manipulated. I was leaning on a rail on a platform raised a few feet above the dance floor with Alec and Isabelle standing beside me.

I was scanning the crowd searching for any demons and so far we hadn't seen any. All I saw were mundanes dancing their strange gyrations to this awful sound they called music. It was nothing but electronic sounds of different beats strung together.

I was starting to get impatient from being here so long and still not seeing a demon. Suddenly Isabelle elbowed my arm and pointed towards the bar; leaning on the rail in front of the bar was a demon. To a mundane, the demon looked like any other human; he had spike blue hair like some rocker from a punk band.

I looked at him sizing him up to see what we were up against. As I studied him, I noticed his gaze was fixed on one spot out on the dance floor. I turned my gaze to the direction he was staring at, and then I notice his gaze was following a Mundie girl who was making her way through the crowd on the dance floor. I looked at the girl he was staring at and was puzzled as to why this girl had caught his attention. There was nothing really special about her. She had long fire red hair wearing regular blue jeans with a simple tee which did make her look out of place compared to the dress of other girls at the club. From where I stood, I could tell that she had a small petite figure and was very pretty for a mundane. My parabati, Alec, started talking, taking my attention off the small red hair girl the demon was staring at.

"So the usual plan. Isabelle lures the demon to the storage room where we surprise him, taking care of him in there." Alec said.

"Sounds good to me." Isabelle replied. She started to leave, walking over to where the demon was trying to get his attention. As she went to lure the demon to the storage room, Alec and I went ahead to the room to hide there until Isabelle brought the demon in. We started making our way through the crowd trying not to run into any mundanes, they couldn't see us but they could still run into us, not knowing what they had bumped into.

We finally made it to the storage room, opening the door me and Alec walked in hiding in the shadows behind one of the pillars in the back. "I hope this doesn't take that long." Alec said. "I'm ready to get back to the Institute. I'm getting tired of being around all theses mundies."

"I know what you mean. The music they listen to is terrible and it's giving me a headache." I said. That's when we heard the door open. Isabelle came into sight from around the corner with Demon not far behind her.

"What's your name?" The Demon asked her.

"Isabelle." She answered in a flirtatious tone.

"That's a nice name." He said walking toward her closing the distance between them. "I haven't seen you here before."

"You're asking me if I come her often." Isabelle giggled covering her mouth with her hand. Isabelle started walking towards him and he froze as he saw the runes marking Isabelle's wrist.

"You – ". Before he could finish, moving with lightning speed, Isabelle uncoiled her whip, whipping it out towards him curling it around his ankles, jerking him off his feet. The Demon hit the ground writhing in pain from the touch of her whip on his skin. Isabelle stood over him laughing, yanking hard on her whip, securing it in place.

"He's all yours boy's." Isabelle taunted. Alec and I walked out of the shadows behind him. Alec grabbed him by his shoulders slamming him against one of the concrete pillars, securing the demons hands behind him with some wire. I walked around the other side of the pillar bringing myself standing in front of him.

"So," I sad, "Are there any more of your kind here?"

"Any other what?" said the Demon trying to play dumb.

"Come on now." I said holding my hands up making my sleeves fall down my arms showing my runes. "You know what I am?" The Demon with hatred on his face hissed, "Shadowhunter."

"Got you." I said with a huge grin on my face. "So," I said, "You still haven't told me if there are any other of your kind with you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." The Demon replied being defiant. Why did he have to make this hard. He knows we know what he is.

"He means Demons." Alec said taking a step up to stand beside me. "You know what a Demon is, don't you?"

"Demons," I said tracing the word in the air mocking him, "Religiously defined as hell's denizens, the servants of Satan, but understood here, for the purposes of the Clave, to be any malevolent spirit whose origin is outside our home dimension – "

"That's enough, Jace." Isabelle said cutting me off.

"Isabelle and Alec think I talk too much," I said confidingly, "Do you think I talk too much?" The Demon started to sense my growing impatience finally decided to give us some information but no matter what information he gave, he wasn't leaving this room alive.

"I could give you information," the Demon said, "I know where Valentine is." His answer didn't surprise me a lot of the demon scum we had caught the last few weeks kept bringing Valentine's name up. I looked at Alec who just shrugged.

"Valentine's in the ground." I said. "The thing's just toying with us" or at least that's what everybody thought. Valentine was a Shadowhunter. Some years ago Valentine and other Shadowhunters who joined him, who he called the circle, tried to overthrow the Clave. Valentine didn't like how the Clave was being run and thought they had turned their back on their oath to the Angel Raziel. But Valentine's plans ended up falling apart when others in his circle turned against him and as far as the Clave knew Valentine had died in a fire inside his house.

"Kill it, Jace," Isabelle said, "It's not going to tell us anything." I agreed and I was tired of playing his games. I was ready to be back at the Institute. I took out my blade. The Demon seeing it in my hand started to panic.

"Valentine is back!" he gasped struggling against the wire that bound his hands trying to escape. "All in the infernal worlds know it. I know it – I can tell you where he is – " Rage started to build inside me. I was tired of hearing his nonsense.

"By the Angel, every time we capture one of you bastards, you claim you know where Valentine is. Well, we know where he is too. He's in Hell – " I turned the knife in my grasp, the edge sparkling like a line of fire "and you can join him there." I started to raise my blade about to send the demon back to the hellish dimension he came from when I was startled by a girl's voice that came from behind me.

"Stop," the girl said, "You can't do this." I whirled around, so startled my blade flew from my hand and clattered against the concrete floor. It was the same red hair Mundie the Demon was staring at earlier but what was even more confusing was the fact she could see Isabelle, Alec, and me. We all had the blinding ruin on so there was no way a mundane should have been able to see us. Isabelle, Alec, me and even the Demon stood there staring with astonishment. Finally Alec said something, "What's this?" He said just as confused as I was, looking from the girl back to us.

Recovering my composure I said, "It's a girl. Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister, Isabelle, is one." I took a step forward to get a better look at the girl to make sure I was seeing things right. Like I said earlier the girl didn't seem to be special with her red fiery hair, jeans, and t-shirt but being this close to her, I noticed she was a lot prettier than I had realized. That's when I noticed her eyes. They were beautiful, huge and round whose color was a marvelous emerald green. They seem to sparkle like two gems and reminded me of the green rolling hills at my house in Idris where I had lived with my father. She stood there glaring at me with those eyes, a look of courage and strength in them which you wouldn't expect from a girl her size.

"A mundie girl," I said. Half to myself, "And she can see us."

"Of course, I can see you," She replied back like I was insane or something, "I'm not blind you know."

"Oh, but you are," I said bending to pick up my blade off the floor, "You just don't know it. You'd better get out of here, if you know what's good for you." Trying to make the girl leave, for some reason, this girl unnerved me.

"I'm not going anywhere," the girl defiantly said, "If I do, you'll kill him," pointing at the demon.

"That's true," I admitted twirling my blade between my fingers, "What do you care if I kill him or not?" Not knowing why, I wanted to hear the girls answer. This girl was starting to amaze me. Any other mundane girl who saw three people trying to kill somebody, would have ran off screaming in the other direction but not this girl, she stood her ground, not backing down.

"Be-because – " the girl stuttered looking shocked I would even ask that question, "You can't just go around killing people."

I pointed at the Demon, "That's not a person, little girl. It may look like a person and talk like a person and maybe even bleed like a person. But it's a monster."

"Jace," Isabelle said warningly, "That's enough." Mundanes weren't allowed to know about our world so Isabelle was trying to stop me before I said something I shouldn't.

"You're crazy," she said fear starting to creep into her eyes as she started to back away from us, "I called the cops and they should be here any minute." I couldn't tell if she was bluffing or not.

"She's lying," Alec said but there was doubt on his face, "Jace, do you – "

He never got to finish his statement. At that moment the Demon, with a high yowling cry, tore free of the restraints binding him to the pillar and flung himself on me. Being distracted by the Mundie girl, I wasn't prepared for his attack. We fell to the ground as he hit me, rolling around on one another. The Demon having the element of surprise, had the advantage rolling on top of me pinning me down with his weight. I heard Isabelle shrieking in the background. The Demon raised his hand with his claws extended. I threw my arm up to protect myself just in time for his claws to rake across my arm, splattering blood from the gash he made on it. I kicked the Demon off of me trying to create space between us to avoid another attack. The Demon lunged again for me but before he got there, Isabelle's whip came down across his back making the Demon shriek and fall to the side.

I rolled over pushing myself up, my blade gleaming from my hand. I sank the blade into the Demon's chest. Blackish liquid exploded around the hilt. The Demon arched off the floor, gurgling and twisting. I looked down at the twitching form at my feet and yanked out the blade. My shirt was drenched from the Demon's black blood and so was my blade. The Demon's eyes flicked open and fixed on me. Between his teeth he hissed, "So be it. The Forsaken will take you all." With that the Demon's body began to jerk and twitch as he crumpled, folding in on himself, growing smaller and smaller until he vanished entirely.

Alec was now by my side. He took my injured arm examining the damage the Demon had caused. Have forgotten about the Mundie girl, I saw she was trying to escape but before she made it to the door, Isabelle flicked her whip at the girl, wrapping it around the girl's wrist. The girl gasped with pain and surprise.

"Stupid little Mundie," Isabelle said between her teeth, "You could have gotten Jace killed."

"He's crazy," the girl said trying to free her wrist from Isabelle's whip, "You're all crazy. What do you think you are, vigilante killers? The police – "

"The police aren't usually interested unless you can produce a body," I said nodding in the direction the Demon had been. She glanced at the spot, her eyes growing big with surprise. There was nothing left from the Demon to even prove he had existed. I was trying to make her realize that she didn't know what she had actually witnessed.

"They return to their home dimensions when they die," I explained to her, "In case you are wondering."

"Jace," Alec said, "Be careful."

"She can see us, Alec," I pointed out, "She already knows too much." Maybe there was something special about this girl. She could see us when no other mundane could. I remembered from different Shadowhunter histories, I read at the Institute, that long ago there used to be certain humans who had the ability to see us. They were said to have the sight and were used as servants by some of the Shadowhunter's. Maybe that's what this girl was and she would be the first one in more than 100 years.

"So what do you want to do with her?" Isabelle demanded. That I really didn't know. We couldn't take her to the Institute without Hodge's permission and if she did end up being just a mundane, we would have to turn her over to the Clave according to Clave law. For some reason, I didn't want to bring that upon this girl, feeling sorry for her.

"Let her go," I said quietly. Isabelle shot me a surprised, almost angry look, but didn't argue. Isabelle released the whip around the girl's wrist. The girl rubbed her wrist where the whip had been.

"Maybe we should bring her back with us?" Alec said. "I bet Hodge would like to talk to her."

"No way are we bringing her to the Institute," said Isabelle, "She's a Mundie."

"Or is she?" I asked thinking aloud. While they were talking just a minute ago, another thought entered my mind. Maybe somehow she was a Shadowhunter. There were some Shadowhunter's who willing left the order for one reason or another and lived in exile. "Have you had dealings with demons, little girl? Walked with warlocks, talked with Night Children? Have you – "

"My name is not little girl," She interrupted starting to get mad, "And I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't believe in – in demons, or whatever yo - " Suddenly a nerdy mundane boy came walking into the storage room. He had brown curly hair and wore glasses. His clothes were similar to the girls with blue jeans and some stupid graphic tee he had on. By the way the boy was looking at her, he must have been her boyfriend because I could tell he was totally enamored by her. The tone of his voice and look of worry was also a total give away. _Why would this girl be with somebody as geeky as him? _Instantly being confused by the thought I just had, why did I care who this girl was with? I didn't care about the affairs of mundanes.

"Clary?" said the boy. So Clary was her name, this only increased my interest in her remembering an old Shadowhunter legend about an herb called Clary sage. Clary whirled around looking at the boy. A bouncer had come in behind him.

"Are you okay?" Why are you in here by yourself? What happened to the guy's you know, the ones with knives?"

Clary stared at him then looked back at us realizing that the boy wasn't able to see them. I grinned at her and gave her a half-apologetic, half-mocking shrug. She turned back towards the boy and the bouncer.

"I thought they went in here," she said, " But I guess they didn't, I'm sorry." I felt sorry for her, seeing how the mundane boy and the bouncer looked at her with frustration. _Why is this girl affecting me so much? _Her Mundie friend looked back at the bouncer telling him, "It was a mistake," with embarrassment on his face. After that, Clary, the Mundie boy, and the bouncer left, leaving us alone in the storage room. I stood there for a moment looking at the door and thought _I have to know who this Clary is and what makes her different. _


	2. We Meet Again

**We Meet Again**

I was standing in front of the coffee shop, Java Jones, watching Clary and her Mundie friend sitting at one of the tables. Last night after Clary caught us killing a Demon at Pandemonium, I decided to follow her home so I would know where she lived. I had to know who this red hair girl was. She looked like just another mundane but she was able to see us when other mundanes couldn't and I had to know why.

After seeing where she lived, I went back to the Institute where Hodge was waiting for me to get back. Alec had told him about Clary and how she was able to see us. So Hodge thought it would be a good idea to bring her back to the Institute so he could talk to her. I instantly volunteered to go get her, thrilled about getting a chance to know who this petite red haired girl with the mesmerizing green eyes was. I was captivated with Clary and didn't know why. There was just something about her that drew me too her, a mystery that I had to solve. Hodge was a little surprise at my eagerness to go retrieve her but I didn't care I just wanted to see Clary again.

So I went back to her house this morning, waiting for an opportunity where I could get her alone. That's when I saw her Mundie friend walking down the sidewalk and into her building. A few minutes later her and the boy exited the building and started walking down the sidewalk. I followed them all the way here to Java Jones.

I was still standing outside the front window, hoping Clary would eventually look back and notice me so she would come outside. I'm sure she wanted answers of what happened last night in the storage room. She was probably wondering to herself if it was real or if it was just a dream. The problem was getting her away from her Mundie friend. There was no way I could bring him to the Institute with us since mundanes weren't allowed in the Institute. Plus I wanted to be alone with Clary and he would just be a distraction. I'd been standing here for a few minutes already waiting for Clary to take a look back but all her attention was focused on the boy onstage. He must have been a friend of Clary's and the mundane and the reason why they had come to Java Jones. Starting to get impatient I decided to go inside to get her attention and hopefully have her follow me outside.

The coffee shop was crowded enough for me to sneak in pretty easily without Clary noticing me. There was a green couch not too far from where they were sitting up against the wall. The couch was close enough for me to hear what they were talking about but far enough to be out of her periphery vision making it a good spot to sit. I sat down on the couch and tried to figure out what Clary and the boy were talking about.

Finally I heard enough of their conversation to realize what it was they were saying. They were discussing why Clary's Mundie friend, who she called Simon, wasn't interested in some girl they knew. Simon told Clary he didn't want to be with that other girl because he had feelings for someone else, and now Clary was trying to figure out whom that someone else was. I couldn't help but laugh. Clary was so clueless. It was so obvious who the Mundie had feelings for, it was her. He was so infatuated by Clary it practically poured out of every pore in his body. _He should just give up. He has no chance with this girl, _surprising myself that I even thought that. Then I heard Clary ask Simon "Are you Gay?" I almost fell off the couch I was sitting on from laughter.

The hilarity of the situation was so much I couldn't stop myself from letting out a choked off laugh. Clary immediately turned her green eyes in my direction, seeing me laughing on the couch. When she saw me, she was shocked but it was instantly replaced with displeasure. Having her attention I smiled at her and waved as I got off the couch and made my way to the back door which led into the alley.

Once in the alley I leaned myself against the wall opposite the door and took the sensor out of my pocket waiting for her to come out. Finally the door opened with Clary rushing out and abruptly stopping, surprised to see that I was still there.

"Your friend's poetry is terribly," I said.

"What?" Clary said still shocked that I was even here.

"I said his poetry was terrible. It sounds like he ate a dictionary and started vomiting up words at random."

"I don't care about Eric's poetry," she said with anger noticeable in her voice, "I want to know why you're following me."

"Who said I was following you?" I replied not wanting it to look like I was stalking her.

"Nice try. And you were eavesdropping too. Do you want to tell me what this is about, or should I just call the police?" Clary said clearly aggravated.

"And tell them what?" I said mockingly. "That invisible people are bothering you? Trust me, little girl, the police aren't going to arrest someone they can't see." I knew my answer would increase her anger but I couldn't help it. Her anger was amusing. The way she talked to me fascinated me. Most girls had a hard time talking to me, much less looking me in the eyes due to my intimidating good looks. Not Clary, not only did she look me in the eyes, she challenged me.

"I told you before my name is not little girl. It's Clary."

"I know," I said, "pretty name. Like the herb, Clary sage. In the old days people thought eating the seeds would let you see Fair Folk. Did you know that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Clary said looking confused. If she did have any secrets, she definitely didn't know it.

"You don't know much do you?" I asked, "You seem to be a mundane like any other mundane, yet you can see me. It's a conundrum."

"What's a mundane?" she asked

"Someone of the human world. Someone like you." I answered.

"But your human," Clary said.

"I am," I said "But I'm not like you." Right now, I really didn't care if she believed me or not. I was just trying to build some trust with her so she would go with me to the Institute freely. I didn't want to force her to come, thinking that might be a chore even though she was small.

"You think you're better. That's why you were laughing at us." She said the anger returning to her voice.

"I was laughing at you because declarations of love amuse me, especially when unrequited." I said smiling at her. "And because your Simon is one of the most mundane mundanes I've ever encountered. And because Hodge thought you might be dangerous but if you are, you certainly don't know it." When Hodge said that to me at the Institute, I started to laugh, Clary and the word dangerous didn't even belong in the same sentence. There was no way I could see this girl as being dangerous.

"I'm dangerous." Clary said stunned. "I saw you kill someone last night. I saw you drive a knife under his rib – "She suddenly stopped mid-sentence looking down at my arm where the demon had cut me. Not seeing the cut on my arm since I had healed myself, doubt started to show on her face like she wasn't sure of what she saw last night.

"I may be a killer," I said, "but I know what I am. Can you say the same?"

"I'm an ordinary human being, just like you said. Who's Hodge?" Clary wondered. If there was one thing about Clary, she was anything but ordinary.

"My tutor. And I wouldn't be so quick to brand myself as ordinary, if I were you." I said.

"Let me see your right hand." I wanted to know if she was a Shadowhunter. "My right hand?" Clary asked confused. I just nodded at her. "If I show you my hand, will you leave me alone?"

"Certainly," I said lying. I didn't like lying to her but I didn't want to get her mad right now either. She reluctantly held out her right hand for me to look at. Her hands were small and delicate to my touch. I flipped her hand over and looked at her wrist not seeing what I was looking for.

"Nothing," I said disappointed. I was looking for a rune that would have instantly told me if she was a Shadowhunter but she didn't have one.

"You're not left-handed are you?" I asked

"No, why?" she said looking puzzled.

"All Shadowhunter children get marked with the Voyance rune on their right hands – or left, if they're left-handed like I am – when they're still young, It's a permanent rune that helps us see the magical world." I stuck out my left hand seeing if she could see the Voyance rune on my wrist."

"I don't see anything." Clary said.

"Let your mind relax," I suggested remembering how I was first taught to see past glamor's. Some glamor's were harder to penetrate than others. "Wait for it to come to you. Like waiting for something to rise to the surface of water."

"You're crazy." She said as she looked down at my wrist. She started to let herself relax as she focused on my wrist trying to see the Voyance rune. I watched her as she concentrated hoping she would be able to see it.

"A tattoo?" Clary said suddenly with amazement in her voice.

"I thought you could do it. And it's not a tattoo- it's a rune. They're runes burned into our skin. Different marks do different things. Some are permanent but, the majority vanish when they've been used." I said pleased she could see it.

"That's why your arms aren't all inked up today?" Clary said "Even when I concentrate?"

"That's exactly why." I said. I was surprised she noticed my runes last night. She's pretty perceptive. "I knew you had the sight at least," But deep down I had this feeling she was a Shadowhunter somehow, even though she didn't have the Voyance rune. I looked up at the sky noticing it was about to be dark.

"It's nearly full dark, we should go." I said wanting to get off the street before the demons and downworlders would be out.

"We? I thought you were going to leave me alone." Clary remarked.

"I lied," I said, "Hodge said I have to bring you to the Institute with me. He wants to talk to you."

"Why would he want to talk to me?'

"Because you know about us." I said

"About us?" she echoed. "You mean people like you. People who believe in demons."

"People who kill them," I replied, "We are called Shadowhunter's. At least, that's what we call ourselves. But Hodge will tell you all this when we get there, we must go." Clary crossed her arms over her chest.

"What if I didn't want to see him?" Clary said defiantly. Of course, I was expecting this. Just from last night and talking to her today, I could tell that Clary did things her way. She did what she wanted, when she wanted and there was no controlling this girl. The more I talked to her, the more things I picked up about her.

"That's your problem. You can come either willingly or unwillingly." I stated. The look that came across Clary's face was hilarious. She was in utter disbelief, not believing what I'd just said.

"Are you threatening to kidnap me?" She said shocked.

"If you want to look at it that way," I said, "Yes." I couldn't help but laugh on the inside. The way she stood up to me even though she knew there was no way she could fight me off amused me.

Clary opened her mouth to protest angrily, but was interrupted by a buzzing noise. Her phone was ringing.

"Go ahead and answer that, if you like." I said not wanting whoever was calling to think something bad had happened to Clary and call the cops. Clary turned away from me and began digging in her bag. The call must have been important because by the time she got the phone out it was on its third set of rings.

"Mom," Clary said. _Her mom must be worried about her. _Suddenly Clary's body language started to change. She became rigid and was starting to get a panicked look on her face. Suddenly I heard a loud noise coming from her phone that sounded like something breaking or crashing. I stepped closer to Clary, starting to worry about what was going on.

"Mom," Clary shouted into the phone frantic, "Mom, are you all right?" The sheer terror on Clary's face pulled at my heart. I felt a need to help this girl, to take away the terror she was feeling.

"Who found you? Mom, did you call the police? Did you – "Clary said being cut off by a weird noise coming thru her phone. "Mom!" Clary shrieked into the phone. "Mom, are you there?" Clary looked down at her phone, the call with her mom being disconnected. She just stared at her phone in shock, not knowing what was happening or what she should do.

"Clary, what's going on?" I said urgently wanting to help her. Clary just ignored me. She feverishly started mashing buttons on her phone but whoever she called didn't answer. Her hands started shaking, panic coursing thru her body. She started dialing her phone again when it fell out of her hands crashing to the street below. She instantly dropped to her knees to retrieve the phone unable to control herself due to her emotions. She picked up the phone but it was broken, a big crack running down the middle of the screen.

"Dammit!" She said almost in tears by this time, she threw the phone back down.

"Stop that," I said grabbing her wrist helping her off the street. "Has something happened?"

"Give me your phone," Clary said snatching the sensor out of my shirt pocket, "I have to –. " She stopped when she noticed what she had wasn't a phone.

"It's not a phone," I said, "It's a sensor. You won't be able to use it."

"But I need to call the police!" Clary said still frightened about her mom. For some reason, I had the feeling the cops wouldn't be able to help her mom.

"Tell me what happen first," She tried to yank her wrist out of my hand as I talked, "I can help you." All I wanted was for Clary to trust me_. I could help her if she would just tell me what's going on._

Out of nowhere, Clary's hand struck my face, her nails raking down my cheek. I let go of my gripped and jumped back in disbelief, stunned. I definitely didn't see that coming. I was trying to help this girl and what do I get a smack across the face. By the time I regained some composure, Clary was long gone running down the street.

Blood was running down my cheek so I pulled my stele out of my pocket, putting a healing rune on me to heal my face. I was pretty ticked about Clary attacking me and started feeling she wasn't worth the trouble. But then I remembered the horror that was in her beautiful green eyes. I put the stele back in my pocket and took off running after her. I knew there was something seriously wrong and I couldn't take the thought of something bad happening to Clary.


	3. The Ravener Demon

**The Ravener Demon**

I was running from Java Jones chasing after Clary. I had been talking to Clary trying to get her to follow me to the Institute when she got a call from her mom. Her mom was in some kind of trouble so Clary took off but not before she smacked me in my face for no apparent reason. After getting over my anger of her hitting me, I took off after her fearing she was in some kind of trouble.

I finally made it to Clary's apartment building. I wasn't too sure what apartment was hers but thankfully her building was more like a small duplex than a big apartment complex. I scanned the front of the building. Nothing looked out of place outside the building so I cautiously proceeded through the front door. Clary didn't tell me anything about what had happened to her mother before she took off, so I proceeded slowly, not wanting to be surprised by something unexpected.

There were two apartment rooms on the bottom floor, one on either side. Both of the doors were closed and no strange noises were coming from them so I decided to go up the stairs to the second floor. All of the sudden, I heard a girl's scream followed by a loud crashing sound. I instantly sprang into action, taking two steps at a time up the stairs. When I reached the second floor, the apartment door on the right was knocked down like it had been blown to pieces. _This isn't good, _I thought to myself as I slowly approached the door.

I stepped through the doorway into her living room which was destroyed. Most of the furniture was overturned, pictures were knocked off the walls, and the shelves were knocked down also. I turned to walk towards the kitchen when I saw Clary on the floor unconscious. I was instantly hit by a wave of panic. _I hope she isn't dead, _was the only thing that entered my mind.

I ran over to her kneeling down beside her. She was still breathing giving me some relief from the dread I was feeling. I looked towards the kitchen to make sure the threat wasn't still here when I saw a Ravener demon lying on the floor. I quickly got up walking to where the demon laid but before I got there the demon disintegrated, going back to the hellish realm it came from. Lying on the floor where the demon once had been, was my stele. I was shocked. A Ravener demon can only be killed with an enchanted weapon like my blade so for Clary to kill one with just a stele was pretty amazing if not downright impossible.

I picked up the stele placing it back in my belt then hurried back to Clary. I was hoping she had passed out from the shock of the encounter and wasn't stung by the Ravener demon. A Ravener's sting was toxic and could kill in minutes if not treated right away. Reaching Clary, I knelt down beside her. She'd fallen face down so she was lying on her stomach. With my eye, I scanned up and down her small body looking for a demon sting. I didn't see anything on the back of her legs or arms. Not seeing anything on her back either, I was about to turn her over when her red hair fell away to the side revealing her neck. Right there in the middle of her neck was a demon sting with black fluid oozing from it. I had to get her to Hodge right away or she will die was the first thing that jumped into my mind. The thought of Clary dying caused fear to course through my veins.

But the first thing I had to do was to get Clary out of this building before anymore demons showed up. I gently picked up Clary in my arms running her out her door, down the stairs, out a back door on the first floor of the building. The door led to an alley behind the back of the house. On the side of the house, I found a hedge of rose bushes. I laid Clary behind them giving us cover from the street. I tore a piece of cloth from the bottom of Clary's shirt so I could wrap it around her neck to stop the sting from bleeding. At that moment, I heard sirens from a Police car as it pulled up coming to a stop in front of Clary's building. I had a pretty good feeling that these Police were actually other demons. I had to hurry. I tore the cloth in strips and noticed Clary was starting to come to. She gagged suddenly opening her eyes.

"Don't move," I said knowing it would cause her severe pain if she did. But of course, Clary didn't listen to me and turned her head to the side looking in the direction of the Police. Seeing the Police cars, Clary tried to sit up causing her to gag from the pain that shot thru her body. She instantly laid back down on the grass.

"I told you not to move," I hissed. "That Ravener demon got you in the back of the neck. It was half-dead so it wasn't much of a sting, but we have to get you to the Institute. Hold still."

"That thing – the monster – it talked." Clary said her voice very weak and unsteady.

"You've heard a demon talk before." I said trying to keep her talking as I tied the strip of cloth around her neck. I put some salve I had on me on the cloth. The salve would numb it taking away some of the pain she was feeling.

"The demon in Pandemonium – it looked like a person." Clary replied.

"It was an Edolon demon. A shape-changer. Ravener's look like they look. Not very attractive, but they're too stupid to care,"

"It said it was going to eat me." Clary said fear dripping from her voice.

"But it didn't. You killed it." I said still amazed at what she had done. After securing the knot on the cloth around her neck, the salve must have started working because Clary slowly hauled herself up to a sitting position.

"The Police are here." Clary said her voice cracking, "We should – "

"There's nothing they can do. Somebody probably heard your screaming and reported it. Ten to one those aren't real Police Officers. Demons have a way of hiding their tracks." I interrupted.

"My mom," Clary said hardly able to force the words out of her mouth. She was quickly getting worse. I had to get her out of here now but I didn't see any exit in the back of the alley and there was no way I could sneak Clary by the Police out front.

"There's Ravener poison coursing through your veins right now. You'll be dead in an hour if you don't come with me." I said standing up as I held my hand out to her. She reached up, her small delicate hand grabbing mine as I pulled her upright.

"Come on," I said not really sure she was able to walk. That's when she stumbled like she was about to fall. Without thinking about it, I slid my hand across her back steadying her.

"Can you walk?" I said a bit of worry evident in my voice.

"I think so." Clary said looking in the direction of the Police. They had gotten out of the car by now and as I figured, they were actually demons. Clary saw the demons hand that was fleshless, a skeleton hand sharpened to bone points at the fingertips. "Her hand – "

"I told you they might be demons." I glanced around trying to figure out how we were going to get out of this alley. "We have to get out of here. Can we go through the alley?"

Clary shook her head. "It's bricked up. There's no way –." She came to an abrupt stop dissolving into a fit of coughing. She raised her hand to cover her mouth. It came away red.

Seeing blood on her hand increased the urgency I was feeling. She didn't have long and I was starting to fear the she wasn't going to make it. With the alley being blocked, I only had two options. I could sit her and watch her die in my arms or I could risk putting a Shadowhunter's rune on her that could either save her life or could kill her also. Mundanes couldn't handle being marked by a Shadowhunter rune. It would make them go mad and turn them into what we call the "Forsaken." That's why it was against Clave law to ever mark a mundane with runes and that was the problem. I didn't know with 100% clarity if Clary was a Shadowhunter. But I was pretty sure, she had to be. Her ability to see my, her killing that demon, and the fact the demon was after her in the first place was pretty good evidence that she was more than just a mundane. Demons wouldn't waste their time with some ordinary mundane.

Just sitting here watching her die wasn't an option to me. I had just met Clary and before I could even get to know anything about this girl with the beautiful green eyes, she could die right here in my arms remaining a mystery. I had to take the risk and mark her with a blinding ruin so I didn't have to worry about us being seen as I ran her to the Institute.

I turned her hand over showing me her wrist. I took the stele out of my belt and started to mark her skin with the blinding rune. Clary flinched in my hand when the stele started to burn her skin.

"What's that supposed to do?" Clary asked.

"It'll hide you," I said. "Temporarily." I put the stele back in my belt and saw Clary looking at it. I pointed at it and told her it was called a stele wanting her to know what it was for some reason. I studied her for a few moments to see if there were any signs of her turning into a Forsaken. Clary started to look weak and unsteady and was on the verge of passing out.

She looked up at me for the last time and said, "Jace," as she crumbled into my arms. I caught her and swung her up in my arms. Her body felt tiny and fragile against my body and was as light as a feather allowing me to run my full speed back to the Institute.

Looking down onto Clary's face caused feelings I never felt before to blossom inside me. I felt a longing for Clary, a need to know her, to have her in my life. I wanted more than just knowing her. I wanted to be with her. Be the one by her side protecting her, making sure no harm ever touched her. A desire for Clary started to burn in my chest. I looked up as I started to run towards the Institute. As I ran I thought to myself, _Please Clary, don't die. I want the chance to get to know you. _


	4. Bedtime Story

**Bedtime Story**

Alec and Isabelle met Clary and me at a Diner called Taki's for breakfast earlier this morning. Clary and I had just come from the City of Bones after visiting the Silent Brothers. They tried to remove the block from Clary's mind but were unsuccessful. The Silent Brothers digging in Clary's mind had affected her. She looked drained and was not that talkative after they were finished. So I thought it was a good idea to take Clary to get something to eat, since it had been a while since either of us had eaten.

The Silent Brothers were unable to remove the block from Clary's head but they were able to get the name of the person who put it there. It was a warlock named Magnus Bane. When I told Isabelle the name "Magnus Bane" while eating at Taki's, she just happened to know of a party he was having tonight and had an invitation to go. The party didn't start until midnight though. So with a day to burn, we went back to the Institute to get some rest.

When we got back, Alec and I went up to the weapons room, where we cleaned our blades and got things ready to go for tonight. We also sparred for a good while. We finally stopped due to me getting tired of Alec's nagging over Clary. He was mad because I was risking a lot for Clary. I had already broken the law a few times trying to help Clary figure out who she was and where her mom was. Alec thought we should tell the Clave the situation and let them handle it. Which really pissed me off, I didn't trust the Clave that much and giving them Clary without knowing the whole story could be dangerous. And I wasn't going to risk Clary like that. I knew the real reason behind Alec's feelings towards Clary. He was jealous.

I knew how Alec really felt about me but I never let on like I did. It didn't really bother me but I could never feel that way towards him especially after meeting Clary. I didn't tell Alec about my feelings for Clary though. I couldn't because I really didn't know how to describe them myself. I still hadn't figured out why Clary affected me so much. There was just something about her that drew me too her like a predator to his prey. After leaving Alec, I decided to go check on Clary to make sure was alright.

Clary had been through a lot the last week and since Simon was off with Isabelle, I was hoping I could finally get some alone time with her. I was pretty upset when Isabelle told me Simon had showed back up to the Institute this morning. I wish he would just go home but he was so head over heels in love with Clary. He wanted to be where she was and Clary wanted him here which made me a little jealous.

When I arrived at Clary's room, her door was wide open. I walked in and looked around but she wasn't here. _I wonder where she went too. _I was just about to turn around and leave to go look for her when I saw her sketchbook lying next to the bed. I knew it probably wasn't right to look at it without Clary's permission but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see what she thought about, what she drew, learning all her interest and maybe see if she even thought about me.

I grabbed the sketchbook off the nightstand and laid out on her bed. Opening the sketchbook, the first drawing I came too must have been her mother. She was a very beautiful but the thing I noticed most was Clary's ability to draw. I kept flipping through her sketchbook taking in her sketches one at a time. She had drawings of many different things. Pictures of flowers, scenic pictures, drawings of people, scenes of people at the park, and many others. After looking through more of her drawings, I had a great appreciation for Clary's talent. She had this ability to strip things down to their most basic element, capturing their inner essence in that moment she was drawing. It was beautiful. Sometimes it felt like she looked at me that way with her emerald green eyes, like she was analyzing my every feature, breaking me down, seeing me the way I really was. She seem to strip down all the false facades, I wore as shields around myself. Walls that I had built around myself keeping people from getting to close. When she looked at me, I felt defenseless like she could see through those walls to my very soul making me feel naked under her gaze.

I was still flipping through her book when I came across a picture of Simon. I knew I shouldn't have been surprised to find a picture of him in here but seeing him instantly made me jealous again something I was not use to feeling especially towards a mundane. I knew Clary and Simon hadn't gone pass the friends stage but Clary definitely had some feelings for Simon. How deep those feelings were, was the question. I wish I had some clue on how Clary felt about me. I was usually pretty good at reading people but not Clary. I had no clue what she thought. Most times she did the exact opposite of what I expected.

At that moment, I was startled away from Clary's sketchbook by a shriek followed by something crashing to the floor. I looked up and saw Clary looking at some green liquid on the floor.

"Oh dear," I said abruptly sitting up, "I hope that wasn't anything important."

"It was a sleeping potion," she said. I could tell that she wasn't too happy about dropping the sleeping potion. "And now it's gone."

"If only Simon were here. He could probably bore you to sleep." I said not really knowing why. That just seemed to increase the anger she was feeling but she didn't bother saying anything back. She just sat down on the other side of the bed next to me.

"I don't usually let people look at that," Clary said.

"Why not?" I asked. "You're a pretty good artist. Sometimes even excellent."

"Well because – it's like a diary. Except I don't think in words, I think in pictures, so it's all drawings. But it's still private." She said. That made me feel sad. A sketchbook she considered her diary and not even one single drawing of me. Obviously, Clary didn't think of me like I did her which was all the time.

"A diary with no drawings of me in it? Where are the torrid fantasies? The romance novel covers? The – "

"Do all the girls you meet fall in love with you?" She asked interrupting me, deflating my confidence even more.

"It's not love," I quietly replied. "At least – "

"You could try not being charming all the time?" Clary said. "It might be a relief for everyone."

I looked down at my hands not wanting Clary to see how her words stung me. _She obviously wasn't too happy I was here, _I thought. Then I remembered the sleeping potion she dropped when she first entered the room. _Maybe she is really just tired. _

"If you're really tired, I could put you to sleep," I said hesitantly fearing rejection, "Tell you a bedtime story." I felt Clary's green eyes just looking at me making me feel anxious.

"Are you serious?" Clary asked astonished.

"I'm always serious." I said. She just sat there looking at me a little bit longer then she set down her sketchbook back on the nightstand, and laid down, curling sideways on her pillow. "Okay."

Joy and relief exploded inside me. "Close your eyes." I said. Clary closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillow getting comfortable.

"Once there was a boy," I started but was suddenly interrupted by Clary. "A Shadowhunter boy?" she asked. Knowing she wanted the boy to be a Shadowhunter increased my joy. _Maybe she does want to be a part of my world. _

"Of course," I said amused and continued on with the story. "When the – Shadowhunter – boy was six years old, his father gave him a falcon as a birthday gift. The father wanted the boy to train the falcon to make it into a good hunter. He wanted the boy to make the bird obedient, able to follow the boy's commands so they could use the bird to help them hunt. For weeks the falcon would slash at the boy with his beak and talons whenever the boy went near it. The falcon didn't like or trust the boy and the boy didn't like the falcon at first either but he didn't give up on trying to tame the falcon.

The boy stayed with the falcon constantly talking to it even playing music to it trying to tire the bird out making it easier to deal with. The boy also got the falcon use to the bird equipment: the jesses, the hood, the brail, and the leash that bound the bird to his wrist. The boy was supposed to keep the falcon blind not allowing it to actually know the boy but he couldn't bring his self to do that so he would he sit where the bird could see him, touching and stroking the bird. When the boy first fed the falcon, he would have to place the food down before the falcon would eat it. But eventually the bird got to the point where he would eat straight from the boys hand with no hesitation. The more the bird started to trust the boy, the more the boy felt a connection to the bird. He saw the beauty of the bird. Its fierceness and strength apparent in the bird. Finally the bird got to the point where it would go to the boy on his call, landing on the boy's wrist, hopping up to perch on the boy's shoulder.

That's when the boy knew his falcon loved him and he had tamed the bird. He finally brought the falcon to his father to show him his accomplishment. The boy though his father would be pleased but when his father had seen that the falcon loved the boy. His father took the falcon in his hand and broke its neck." I told you to make it obedient," his father said and dropped the falcon's lifeless body on the ground. "Instead you taught it to love you. Falcons aren't meant to be loving pets. This bird was not tamed; it was broken."

After the boy's father left, the boy had cried over his falcon. That's when the boy decided he would never cry again and never forget about the lesson his bird taught him; that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed."

Clary rolled on her back and opened her eyes. "That's an awful story," she said indignantly, snapping me out of memories from long ago. See, the story I just told Clary was about me. It was a story from my childhood that I never told anyone. "Is it?" I questioned.

"The boy's father is horrible. It's a story about child abuse. I should have known you would tell me a story that would give me nightmares – "

"Sometimes the marks can give you screaming nightmares," I said, "It's a good story if you think about it. The boy's father is just trying to make him stronger. Inflexible."

"But you have to learn to bend a little." Clary said yawning, her eyes getting heavy. "Or you'll break."

"Not if you're strong enough," I said soothingly. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer due to exhaustion, they were slowing slipping shut. Not really thinking about it, I reached out brushing the back of my hand against her cheek. I just looked at her thinking, _She is so beautiful._

Stroking Clary's cheek with my hand made me think about the falcon story again. Until this week, it had been a long time since I had thought about the falcon. But when Clary and I was at Madame Dorthea's, she did a card reading on me. Dorthea told me that I would fall in love with the wrong person causing fear too shoot thru me. It instantly brought the memories of my falcon to the front of my mind and the lesson I had learned from it, _To love is to destroy. _

Love was weakness, to love somebody or something made you vulnerable. It was something that could be used against you by an enemy, to hurt you or to make you do things you didn't want to do, controlling you. That's why my feelings for Clary scared me and why I had thought about the falcon story.

Clary reminded me of my falcon. She was fierce, brave, smart, defensive, untamed, and beautiful just like the falcon had been. Making me have some of the same feelings I had felt for the falcon. Dorthea telling me I would fall in love with the wrong person made me think about if something ever happened to Clary. Her being taken away just like my falcon was. The thought made my heart ache from the terror of that ever actually happening.

I looked down at Clary one more time before I left, watching her sleep. I watched her slow steady breathing, her chest rising and falling. She looked so peaceful, so serene. I carefully got up from the bed being careful not to wake her up. I grabbed the blanket at the end of the bed and covered her up before I turned to leave. Before I walked out her door, I looked back one more time, picturing the falcon. _To love is to destroy, _was the last thought in my head as I left her room, closing the door behind me.


	5. Dress to Impress

**Dress to Impress**

After leaving Clary's room, I went back to my own room to shower and get a few hours asleep before the party tonight at Magnus Bane's. I wanted to make sure I was well rested due to not knowing what we could run into tonight. I just hope Bane had the answers Clary wanted. After sleeping for a few hours, I got up, got dressed, and applied my ruins on my skin then went down stairs to the lobby to wait for Isabelle and Clary.

Alec, me, and Simon were in front of the lobby elevator waiting on Isabelle and Clary. While I waited for Isabelle and Clary to come down, I kept glancing over at Simon with disgust. I was pretty mad that he was still here and insisting on going with us to Bane's. The fact I was jealous of Simon and his relationship with Clary made me despise him even more. Jace Wayland jealous of a mundane was unheard of especially a weak geeky one like Simon. Simon distracted Clary's attention away from me and made it impossible for me to get her alone.

I went back to messing with my phone while we still waited. I was trying anything to distract from the anxiousness I was feeling about seeing Clary. I still hadn't been able to figure out why Clary had such an effect on me. I had been with many girls but none of them ever held my interest like Clary. Maybe the reason was she didn't fall all over me like other girls did. I actually had to work for her attention which I never had to do. Most of the time girls wouldn't leave me alone due to my stunning good looks.

I heard footsteps coming down the hall, making their way to where we waited. That's when I heard Simon ask, "What is that?" with a stunned amazement in his voice. Slowly, I glanced up trying not to let everybody see my eagerness to see Clary, and gasped when I saw her. Simon started to say something else but I was no longer aware of what he was saying. The only thing I was aware of was Clary and I was blown away. Her beauty had me transfixed like she was the only person alive in the world. I stared at her looking her body up and down making a mental image that I could store in my memory.

Her red fiery locks had been pinned up loosely on the back of her head. With a few strands down in the front curling around her face. Isabelle had given her a tight black mini dress to wear that wrapped her body in a tight embrace showing off all her curves. The dress came down right below the top of her thighs showing a lot of her legs. The shortness of the dress and the fishnets she wore also made her legs look longer than they actually were. Isabelle also did her make up. She put a luscious red lipstick on Clary's lips making them look fuller and lustful. But the make up around her eyes seem to make her beautiful emerald eyes beam like two beacons lighting your way home.

I was suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of desire that I had never felt before in my life. It coursed thru my veins making me all warm inside. All I could think about was how it would feel to caress her body with my hands. The desire to reach out and touch her, to pull her to me was almost unbearable.

To shake the feeling, I unhitched myself from the wall I was leaning on and said, "I like the dress." Clary turning her gaze on me blushed giving her cheeks a rosy hue. Seeing her blush caused a warm fuzzy sensation to spread thru my body. My heart rate started to race.

"It needs a little something extra." I said not taking my eyes off hers.

"So what you're a fashion expert now." She said with a slight nervousness to her voice.

I reached in my jacket pocket and pulled out a small dagger. I figured I should give her some kind of weapon in case something happens and placed the dagger in her hand. Now I only stood a few inches away from her. I could feel the warmth radiating from her body, increasing my desire and urge to feel her in my arms.

"I don't know how to use a da – "she said.

"You'd learn," I interrupted, "It's in your blood." She looked at him with a thoughtful expression and said "All right." taking the dagger and putting it in the backpack she was wearing.

Isabelle and Simon started commenting on the dagger I gave Clary but all my focus was still on her. I just stood there staring at her not able to look away. As I stood there looking at her, all I could think was how somebody could be so beautiful in every way. I had this sudden urge of wanting to take the pins out of her hair, letting her red fiery locks flow over her shoulders. Clary looked back over to me and caught me staring at her. Without really thinking about it I said, "And One Last Thing."

I started to reach around her, half-way expecting her to take a step back, but she didn't bringing her body and face even closer to mine. I avoided looking down in her eyes knowing that would do me in and I wasn't too sure I could resist my overwhelming urge to lean down and kiss her. I pulled the pins out letting her lively red hair fall flowing onto her shoulders.

I stepped back and looked her up and down finally stopping my gaze at her sparkling emerald eyes and I was lost. Nothing would ever be the same. I would do anything for Clary. She owned my heart and always would. And for the first time in my life, I felt fear. Fear of Clary not being in my life.


End file.
